Upgrading Parallels Desktop 3 to Parallels Desktop 9

Symptoms

I have Parallels Desktop 3 for Mac and I want to upgrade it to version 9.

Resolution

Since Parallels Desktop 3 has reached End of Life, you will need to purchase a full license of Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac.

Please complete the following instructions to ensure a safe upgrade of your virtual machine:

Note: In Parallels Desktop for Mac version 2 and 3 there was no PVM bundle but HDD file and the rest of current PVM bundle content were located apart in /Library/Users/[user name]/Parallels folder as the default location.

Start your virtual machine in Parallels Desktop 3.

Remove all Anti-Virus programs you have and uninstall Parallels Tools (you can install your virus protection back after upgrade is completed).

Shut down your Virtual Machine and quit Parallels Desktop.

Download and install Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac. For details about Parallels Desktop 9 installation, please refer to this article.

Launch Parallels Desktop 9 and click on your virtual machine icon. If convertion process will not start, create new Virtual Machine without a source and connect Parallels Desktop 3 Virtual Machine .hdd to that new empty Virtual Machine.

Convert it to the new format. We strongly recommend to use Back Up and Convert option.

Start the virtual machine when prompted.

Wait till the convert process is over. Refer to this article if it is taking too long.